The invention relates to a system and method for transferring stored value.
As electronic systems have continued to develop in recent decades, there has generally been an increase in the types of value that may be used by customers. For example, in addition to having monetary value stored electronically in their bank accounts, many customers now also have value stored in other forms, including nonmonetary forms such as cell-phone minutes or travel points. While such value may, in principle, be transferable, there has generally been no simple way to effect a transfer efficiently. This may particularly be the case for a transfer in which it may be desired to convert value from one form into another.
One existing effort to simplify the transfer of value makes use of a smart card, which has sometimes been described as containing “digital cash.” A smart card is typically a plastic card with an embedded microchip that can be loaded with data and then periodically refreshed. The microchip may thus be programmed to include a certain level of monetary value, which can then be used to execute transactions. Smart cards are often designed to be inserted into a slot to be read by a special reader, although they may also be configured to be read at a distance using a Wireless Application Protocol (“WAP”), typically at infrared wavelengths. Recently, some suggestion has been made that smart cards holding monetary value may be incorporated into other devices, such as in mobile phones in a manner similar to the existing Security Identity Modules (“SIM”).
Such developments, however, do not address the conversion of stored values as part of a transfer.